Aebleskiver pan/pancake puff trials!

Well, after hounding my hubby about it, I got a Pancake Puff kit for Christmas. For those who didn't know asmuch, all it is is a Danish aebelskiver pan, with a "American" name! I was so looking fowards to making all the delish-looking treats that goofy commercial brags about, as I love pancakes to start.

Making these is all about trial and error, and boy did I err many times! *LOL* For starters, I used boxed pancake mix, ala Aunt Jemima. I put a little oil in the heated cups, placed the batter to the top of each divet and Viola! A horrible, horibble mess! They stuck like crazy, then burned! By the third ruined batch, I was about to pull out my hair in frustration. Off I go, to search the internet. Of course, the darn "Pancake Puff" website was useless for the info I needed. Then, searching aebelskiver gave tons of results, coming to:

( watch the video on the page, "How To Make Aebelskiever") Thank you, sweet old man Arne for your video!! I wish you'd get your own cooking show, i'd watch it religiously. I love his little commentary on how he hates to make a mess in the kitchen. Even WITH Arne's video help..Learning how to correctly make aebelskiver comes only with practice. Those crummy, flimsy bamboo skewers? GONE! I've graduated to steel knitting needles, much better for me anyways.

The biggest lesson learned for me is the addition of oil to the batter, and also using Bisquick. The added egg, plus the oil makes the puffs not stick. I also tried using butter-flavored Pam spray, and I think that's a winner as well, for me. Not filling the cups completely full is another trick to getting them to turn easier- remember, they will expand slightly as they cook! 3/4th full is about right. I keep my gas stove to the "4" mark, the entire time, pre-heating the cast-iron pan at that temp, as well.

I wanted to give others a little heads-up on this, as if this was something I could have found from the get-go, I would have been alot less stressed out.

Aebelskiver/Pancake Puffs, done right (not burned, and cooked all the way thru, and ROUND) are a treat, and i'm totally addicted now. I'm going to try and make the batter from scratch soon, and also add things to the middle. I'm also wanting to try Jiffy cornbread mix, and a hotdog wiener slice and make mini corndogs.

Oh, this definitely makes me want some aebelskiver right now!! :) Unfortunately, I now have a flat top electric range, so it won't work with my old aebleskiver pan :(My (non-Danish) mother always said the knitting needle was the right way to do it, too, but I seem to remember her usually using a batter tester instead... Hers were not as perfectly round as Arne's though--they were more pancake-like, a bit fluffy, and sort of collapsed a little in the middle as they cooled. Arne's are sturdier with more of a "crumb" and are crispier on the outside, so they stay nice and hot and spherical while you eat them. (If you're in southern CA, be sure to seek him out! He's completely charming.)It looks like he even recently posted to an LA aebelskiver thread :)http://www.chowhound.com/topics/359793

Oh you have to try making the batter from scratch, so much better! I have slaved over many a pan of Aebelskivers at Scandinavian days earning my Danish Sisterhood Scholarship!

I found that they cooked similar to pancakes in that you get better 'skivers when you let them cook almost all the way through before turning them. I always make my batter the day before, gives fluffier 'skivers.

There is a wonderful recipe on the William Sonoma web site for Aebelskiver's and I make them often. I use my small paring knife to flip them over and it works like a charm, and also I use a small pastry brush to reload the oil between each batch, and lastly, I use a flame tamer underneath the burner. I have my husband's handed down from two generations cast iron pan from Denmark.